Tag Archives: New York

New York Became a One-Party State. What Did New Yorkers Get in Return?

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New York voters went to the polls on November 3, 2026, and delivered another sweeping victory to the Democratic Party.

Governor Kathy Hochul won reelection. Democrats retained control of both houses of the state legislature, while candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America won additional seats in Congress and Albany.

The Democratic dominance extends to local government. In White Plains, the capital of Westchester County, the mayor and all six Common Council members are Democrats. In the rest of Westchester, Democrats hold 15 of 17 county legislative seats and the county executive’s office. Statewide, Democrats run the largest ten cities, control the governorship, both legislative chambers, both U.S. Senate seats and most of the congressional delegation.

Twenty years ago, New York had competitive two-party government. Today, Democrats dominate virtually every level of government, while democratic socialists increasingly challenge the party establishment.

What has this political transformation delivered, and where will the 2026 election take the state next?

Twenty Years of Political Transformation

In 2006, Republican George Pataki was governor of New York. Republicans controlled the State Senate, Democrats controlled the Assembly, and Michael Bloomberg, elected mayor of New York City as a Republican, was serving his second term.

Divided government required negotiation and compromise. Republicans offered an alternative to Democratic leadership. No longer.

That year, Democrat Eliot Spitzer won the governorship, ending 12 years of Republican control. In 2018, Democrats captured the State Senate, giving the party unified control of state government beginning in 2019.

Another transformation was already underway.

In 2018, democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Congressman Joe Crowley, one of the most powerful establishment Democrats in Congress. Her victory demonstrated that socialists could defeat entrenched Democrats in districts where winning the party primary effectively guaranteed election.

In 2025, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary and went on to win the general election.

The 2026 elections extended that transformation. DSA-backed Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier won congressional seats after defeating establishment Democrats in their primaries. Socialist-backed candidates also won additional seats in the State Assembly and Senate.

Political Transformation Became Public Policy

New York’s changing political leadership was accompanied by a substantial shift in government policy.

In 2006, the state’s minimum wage was $6.75 an hour. By 2026, it had reached $17 in New York City, Westchester and Long Island. The state’s highest marginal personal income-tax rate rose from 6.85% to 10.9%, excluding additional New York City income taxes.

New York expanded abortion rights, allowing abortions after 24 weeks to the moment of birth. The state legalized recreational marijuana, eliminated cash bail for many criminal offenses, strengthened tenant protections, expanded paid family leave and adopted ambitious climate mandates which contributed to rising electricity prices. It also imposed additional regulations on employers, landlords and businesses.

These changes were largely enacted by establishment Democrats, not democratic socialists. Yet the DSA’s growing influence suggests that the party’s internal opposition considers two decades of progressive legislation insufficient and wants to expand government’s role further.

Spending More, Learning Less

Public education provides one of the clearest measures of government performance.

New York public schools2005–06Latest
Students enrolled2.82 million2.53 million
Annual spending per student$15,240$31,130
Fourth-grade mathematics score238234
Eighth-grade mathematics score280271
Spending figures compare fiscal 2006 with fiscal 2024 in nominal dollars. Enrollment and academic assessment years differ slightly. Mathematics scores are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

New York more than doubled annual spending per student, an increase substantially exceeding inflation, while enrollment fell approximately 10% and mathematics performance declined. The state now spends more per student than any other without producing superior academic outcomes.

Higher Costs and Greater Dependence

New York collects more state and local taxes per resident than any other state. Housing remains extraordinarily expensive, and homeownership is increasingly difficult for families facing high property prices, property taxes and living expenses.

The strain is visible in migration statistics.

In 2024, approximately 415,000 New Yorkers moved to other states, while roughly 285,000 Americans moved into New York from elsewhere in the country. The result was a net domestic loss of approximately 130,000 residents.

New York also relies heavily on high-income taxpayers, many of whom have the financial means to relocate. Their departures could place increasing pressure on the state’s ability to finance its commitments.

Those commitments are substantial. In February 2025, approximately 6.9 million New Yorkers, or 35% of the state’s population, were enrolled in Medicaid. Total Medicaid spending reached approximately $115.6 billion in state fiscal year 2025, including federal funding.

Medicaid and school aid have gone from 38.3% of the state’s budget to 50% over the past twenty years. It is going to continue to grow because of the leftward movemovement of government, squeezing out economic development, infrastructure and public safety.

The continued departures of residents and businesses will accelerate the pain.

A Change in Direction or an Acceleration?

The 2026 election did not produce a change in direction. It strengthened a political movement seeking to accelerate the state’s existing left-wing policies.

Higher spending requires greater revenues. Higher taxes and living costs may encourage more residents and businesses with the means to relocate to leave. Those remaining may become increasingly dependent on public assistance, requiring still more government spending.

The political cycle could reinforce the economic one. As the electorate changes, candidates promising expanded public programs may become more influential, while those advocating lower spending and taxes struggle to gain traction.

New York may be entering a political and economic cycle in which disappointing results produce demands for more of the same policies, while the residents most capable of financing them increasingly choose to live elsewhere.

New York’s Supermajority: The Real Election Is the Legislature

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Worried about New York City Mayor Mamdani’s politics going statewide and national? You need to do a lot more than show up to a protest with placards.

New York is not simply a Democratic state. It is a Democratic supermajority state.

The governor, Governor Kathy Hochul is a Democrat. Democrats hold 41 of the State Senate’s 63 seats and 103 of the Assembly’s 150 seats—more than enough for a veto-proof supermajority in the Assembly and just one seat shy of one in the Senate. The practical result is that currently, Republicans have little ability to force negotiation or compromise. The state’s most important political debates now occur almost entirely within the Democratic Party.

That is critical at a moment like this.

When organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) succeed in electing candidates or moving Democratic primaries to the far-left, the effects are no longer confined to activist circles. Ideas that gain traction within the Democratic caucus can become state policy without needing bipartisan support. Whether the issue is criminal justice, taxation, housing, energy, education, labor regulation, or Israel policy, the decisive battle is often the Democratic primary, not the general election.

This does not mean every progressive proposal becomes law. Democratic legislators disagree on many issues. But a supermajority means there are fewer institutional checks when one faction gains influence.

For New Yorkers who want a different direction than being advanced by the DSA and NYC Mayor Mamdani, the answer is not simply to oppose legislation after it is introduced. It is to change the composition of the Legislature itself.

That is why a relatively small number of competitive districts carry outsized importance this year.

Competitive legislative races do more than elect a senator or assemblymember. They build volunteer networks, raise money, increase turnout, and strengthen candidates throughout the ticket.

Congressman Mike Lawler’s race in the Hudson Valley is a prime example. His campaign in New York’s 17th Congressional District is again expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive House races. A strong Republican legislative effort in the region can reinforce his campaign, just as a strong Lawler campaign can help Republican candidates for the State Senate and Assembly. The same dynamic applies across Long Island, Staten Island, and other competitive suburban districts.

Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY17)

Among the key legislative opportunities Republicans will target are suburban Senate districts on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, along with competitive Assembly districts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Staten Island, Monroe County, Onondaga County, and the Capital Region.

Every election cycle, voters are told that one legislative seat cannot make much difference. In New York, the opposite is true.

A handful of seats in New York’s election can determine whether the Legislature remains a near-unchecked trifecta supermajority allowing radical far-left motions to become law or becomes a body where broader consensus is once again required. Those races will shape not only who governs in Albany, but how New York is governed.

Riding the Waves of New York

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I took this photograph at the 9/11 memorial in Westchester the morning after the Knicks’ victory. Above the memorial, two airplane contrails crossed in the sky. For a moment, the come from behind basketball victories and terrorist tragedies made time collapse. The memory of loss, the joy of victory, and the story of New York itself all appeared in a single frame.

No city I know lives more intensely between triumph and tragedy.

This is the city that stood at the center of the world, nearly went bankrupt, reinvented itself, endured the horror of September 11th, and somehow found a way to rise again. It is a place of breathtaking architecture, relentless ambition, and an economy that continues to attract dreamers from every corner of the globe.

It is also a city of contradictions. A city capable of extraordinary tolerance and extraordinary intolerance. A city that nurtured one of the greatest Jewish communities in history, yet today struggles with normalized antisemitism many thought belonged to the past. A city whose institutions remain among the world’s finest, yet whose values are constantly being tested.

For much of my life, I thought Sinatra’s line—“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere”—meant New York was the ultimate destination. The summit. The place where success itself was measured.

Standing beneath this memorial, I wondered whether I had misunderstood the lyric.

Maybe New York’s greatest lesson is not that it’s the “top of the heap.” Maybe its lesson is resilience.

To make it in New York is to learn how to navigate uncertainty. To endure setbacks. To celebrate victories without believing they will last forever, and to face disappointments without believing they are permanent. The city rises, falls, and rises again. So do the people who call it home.

And if you learn to survive the waves here, you will never fear the next horizon.

Petition Submitted to Planned Parenthood to Rescind Endorsement of Jamaal Bowman

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In an environment of politicians and political organizations endorsing people running for office, it is noteworthy to see a grassroots-led initiative push for an organization to rescind an existing endorsement.

In one of the most-watched primaries in the country, residents of New York State’s 16th Congressional District have been writing to Planned Parenthood to rescind its endorsement of Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The impetus for people in the liberal district to call the women’s rights organization was the recently surfaced video of Bowman yelling at a crowd on the streets of White Plains that the October 7 rape of Jewish women in Israel was a “lie” and “propaganda.”

“I have been giving to Planned Parenthood for forty years. I send them money monthly, and I cannot believe that they would endorse a rape denier,” said Jackie Laub, a retired medical technician who lives in White Plains. “Do the leaders of the organization hate Jews and Israel so much that they would still endorse him?”

Rabbi Scott Weiner of New Rochelle used to be a board member of Planned Parenthood. He submitted the petition to the organization’s CEO and Chair last week, signed by six hundred people in just one week, the vast majority of whom are residents of the district. “I am deeply shocked,” Rabbi Weiner said. “I care deeply about the organization, and for it to have its brand tarnished by endorsing Bowman will likely cost them important donors.”

The video of Bowman denying the sexual assault of women in Israel came out in late March, even though it was filmed at a pro-Palestinian rally in November. When people began to question and criticize Bowman about his rape comments, he refused to discuss it, according to Politico.

Eventually, Bowman got around to condemning the sexual violence committed by Hamas but many of his constituents remain deeply troubled by his initial instinct to not believe women who are raped if they are Jewish.

Diane Katz, who raised her four children in the district said “I wrote to Planned Parenthood as soon as I learned that they had endorsed Bowman. The organization’s response was abysmal. How can they endorse someone who clearly denied the extremely well-documented evidence and testimony of Israeli women who were raped and sexually mutilated? Jewish women around the United States have been leaders in the pro-choice and reproductive rights movement for decades and this is a slap in the face to our community.” She added her name to the petition to not feel so alone and abused by the organization’s tepid response to her letter.

“Screams Before Silence” movie

“They are endorsing a rape denier. Can you imagine that?” Katz asked. “A woman’s rights organization is endorsing a rape denier.”

Others had a similar road to signing the petition.

Dr. Rebecca Amaru of White Plains shared her initial email with Planned Parenthood. It led with “I write as a resident of NY-16, a woman, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, an abortion provider, a proud activist on behalf of abortion access and rights, and a Jew.” She added “Jamaal Bowman does NOT stand for the values that Planned Parenthood represents. Mr. Bowman’s statements after October 7, 2023, included denials of the sexual violence propagated by Hamas terrorists against countless women in Israel. The denials by some progressive politicians of the well-documented crimes against women on October 7 are a stain on the Democratic Party. No matter what Planned Parenthood believes about the war in Gaza, you MUST come down on the side of women victimized by rape as weapon of war.”

After not getting a response from Planned Parenthood, she began to forward the petition to friends.

“It is not as though [Westchester County Executive] George Latimer is not pro-women. He is every bit as pro-choice as Bowman. Minus the rape denial,” added Amaru.

Dr. Sandra Weinstein of New Rochelle, a mother of three girls, was glad that the petition was being circulated. “Candidly, I wasn’t going to vote for Bowman anyway, so this has nothing to do with the race. This is about the normalization of rape denial if the victims are Jewish.”

The petition does not discuss the primary race and acknowledges Bowman’s stance on abortions. Specifically, the petition states that it is “deeply distressing to see Planned Parenthood continue to endorse Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16). While he has been a supporter of female reproductive rights, he has vocally denied the mass rape of Israeli women before a chanting crowd on the streets of his district. Women’s bodily autonomy is not limited to a right to abortion. It must include protections from sexual abuse and assault. Rep. Bowman’s disgraceful ridicule of raped women is beyond the pale and cannot be normalized as acceptable, which Planned Parenthood’s endorsement does.”

One Email sent by someone in District 16 to Planned Parenthood, and a QR Code which was used to get people to sign the petition

Dr. Tali Lando of White Plains was very direct, saying “I’m disgusted. How can my congressperson’s initial reaction not only be to mock the rape of Jewish women, but to incite a crowd that Jewish rape victims are liars? What kind of country are we in?” She continued that the entire premise of Planned Parenthood endorsing Bowman is a contradiction of being for abortion rights. “Planned Parenthood should be ashamed of itself. It cannot claim to be the leading advocate of women’s bodily autonomy while simultaneously aligning itself with a rape denier.”

Rabbi Weiner added that “this is not just a Jewish issue. When a leading national woman’s rights organization like Planned Parenthood affixes its name to person who denigrates the victims of sexual assault to a cheering crowd, every person is at risk.”

The group’s action is already costing them one donor. “After forty years, I am no longer giving to them. They’ve lost me,” said Laub.

Planned Parenthood has still not responded to the petition other than acknowledging that it was received on June 10.

Related articles:

Jamaal Bowman Is Not Progressive, He’s Divisive (June 2024)

When Enemies Of The Jews Use “Any Means Necessary” (May 2024)

Antisemitic Wind Chill, Now In Westchester (January 2024)

The Rape And Torture Of Jewish Women By Emasculated Palestinian Men (January 2024)

Latimer-Bowman Contest Is About Redistricting, Not October 7

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One of the major primaries being discussed in the media is the race in New York’s 16th Congressional District between Rep. Jamaal Bowman of the far-left “squad” and Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a seasoned progressive. The media has portrayed this as a “microcosm of party split over Israel-Hamas conflict,” but that misses the mark.

This is about NY-16 being redistricted from a mix of northern Bronx and some of lower Westchester in 2020, to a predominantly Westchester district with a nub of the Bronx in Co-op City in 2024.

Bowman won the seat in 2020 securing the seat with many votes from the Bronx and some liberals in Westchester looking for a change and progressive voice. When the 2020 census moved NY-16 into more of a Westchester-focused population in 2022, two Westchester Democratic contenders fought to challenge Bowman, Westchester County Legislature Catherine Parker and Westchester County Legislature Vedat Gashi. Parker and Gashi split the anti-Bowman vote who had proven himself to be a radical with his chant to “Defund the Police” and vote against the Infrastructure Bill and then lying to his constituents that he actually supported it.

As soon as Bowman won the 2022 Democratic primary, people in Westchester started planning on who to run against him. This website, PrimaryBowman.com, posted ideas and articles including Beating Bowman, which called for finding a popular Westchester politician EARLY, to avoid splitting the vote again.

THAT WAS IN SEPTEMBER 2022.

Many local people in Westchester got involved to draft George Latimer to run against Bowman. It was not AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel or any other group. It was a grassroot effort of people who thought that Latimer had years of providing quality service to Westchester constituents, and while a liberal, appealed to the more centrist District 16 residents than the extremist Bowman.

The conversations with Latimer began in earnest in April of 2023 and people expected him to make a decision by June. Being a methodical politician, Latimer spent time canvassing the district to see if there was broad support for ousting a sitting Democrat, especially a Black man since Latimer is White. The responses were nearly universal: Bowman is detested in wide swaths of Westchester and politicians and the local Democratic establishment were going to back Latimer.

All of this was months before the barbaric October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

Latimer was quick to raise lots of money from inside Westchester, which is more affluent than the Bronx former-constituents who had voted for Bowman in 2020. Latimer raised almost twice as much money as Bowman in both the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Even more telling, Bowman did not even have 10% of his donations from inside the district.

Sensing his vulnerability, Bowman latched onto the fundraising of Rep. Rashida Tlaib who is hauling in money from pro-Palestinian groups. Running unopposed, she funnels the excess money to Bowman, essentially buying a district hundreds of miles and four states away from her district in Michigan, cashing another anti-Israel vote.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib and her tool, Jamaal Bowman

Bowman is faithfully serving his Palestinian money master. He had anti-Zionists at his launch party, voted against Israel in all congressional votes, defended Tlaib’s gross antisemitism on the floor of congress, and refused to loudly condemn antisemitism on college campuses at a congressional hearing. Further, he would not attend a rally when antisemitic graffiti showed up on Jewish stores in his district, nor would he attend Jewish rallies in synagogues.

Latimer attended all of them.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer at a bipartisan Westchester Jewish Council dinner. Bowman was invited and did not attend (Photo: PrimaryBowman.com)

Do Westchester Jews favor Latimer over Bowman because of Israel? Absolutely, but not solely. Bowman has years of earning his disrespect, including collecting a bipartisan censure from congress for pulling a fire alarm.

Bowman’s calling Westchester Jews “racist” for backing a White challenger is offensive and yet another sign of his moral failures. District 16 Jews support neighboring NY-15’s Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Black-Latino gay politician, for standing up the mob destroying property at Columbia University and for inciting violence against Jews, while Bowman supports the anarchists. Lower Westchester elected Mondaire Jones, a Black gay progressive in 2020 when the district lines put lower Westchester into NY-17.

Tweets on April 30, 2024 by Reps. Torres and Bowman about the pro-Hamas / anti-Israel violence at Columbia University

New York’s 16th Congressional District has sought to replace Bowman as their representative since lines were redrawn to cover most of lower Westchester in 2022. Bowman’s latest anti-Israel antics are disgusting appeals to get money from anti-Zionists outside of the district. Even if October 7 never happened, lower Westchester would still rally to unseat the unpopular extremist Bowman.

Volunteer and donate to George Latimer campaign

Related articles:

Over Half A Million Gazans Support Killing Jewish Civilians. They Are Being Sponsored In Congress By Tlaib And Bowman (March 2024)

Jamaal Bowman Is Unfit To Serve In Congress (November 2023)

Socialists Employ Arabs’ Four Step Battle Plan (July 2020)

Don’t Let AOC Buy Another Squad Seat

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is not just a favorite of the alt-left; she is the cash register.

In the 2022 election cycle, AOC raised and spent way more than any other candidate running for congress from New York State, a whopping $9.9 million. As the incumbent, she had no primary challenger and easily defeated her Republican challenger in a deeply blue district.

So AOC spends her time and resources to back other far left-wing colleagues in other districts to further empower her and spread her radical policies in districts which do have such values.

She has started in NY District 16, where fellow extremist Jamaal Bowman has a tenuous seat in lower Westchester County, having been bumped out of the Bronx in redistricting last year. She has started with tweets this week to raise money for the unpopular Bowman.

The ad is a long string of lies and misdirection.

  1. AIPAC. Why start an ad against a bipartisan pro-Israel group? Because the essence of what AOC and Bowman represent is hyper-partisan anti-Israel legislation.
  2. Establishment executive. Bowman is the multi-term incumbent! He’s the powerful member of congress whom AOC is trying to reframe as the underdog fighting the “establishment.” It’s code for a race war, where the “establishment executive” is a White man trying to take on a Black man.
  3. Brother in The Bronx. District 16 is 97% comprised of lower Westchester. There is only a small nub of the district in the Bronx. Both AOC and Bowman are wildly out-of-touch with the values of lower Westchester County.
  4. Funneling dark money. It is AOC who is the big megaphone and cash register coming from outside District 16, not AIPAC. AIPAC has many enthusiastic backers in the district.
  5. Target… working class candidates of color. AOC has gone full race war. She accuses the pro-Israel organization of being racist when they are nothing of the sort. AIPAC and its sister group, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) are anti-Bowman because he stands against Israel not because of his race. Both groups support Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY15) in the neighboring district who is Black, Hispanic and gay. They supported Mondaire Jones who used to represent NY16, who is also Black and gay. They did so because of their pro-Israel records. Vilifying them as racist is not just slander but highlights AOC’s racism against a White person having the temerity to challenge a powerful Black incumbent.
  6. Misleading attack ads. Bowman has a long history of terrible policies, votes and actions in office, all public. Airing his record is a public service (short recap below) and not at all misleading.
  7. Undermine democracy. AOC is using her big name, reach and bags of money to back a candidate in a different district to undermine the will of the people in the district. Who is undermining democracy?
  8. Contribute $5. This is a way of making the movement seem like a working-class, grass roots initiative when it is nothing of the sort. AOC is the money king, deceiving people as she buys another seat in congress to cement her power.

The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission is chaired by Ken Jenkins, a Democrat who lives in NY16. He has been given the green light by the courts to redraw district lines and may do so to put Bowman back in the Bronx where his voice is more in tune with the local choir, and out of lower Westchester which despises his policies.

The essence of AOC and Jamaal Bowman is hyper-partisan, left-wing anti-Israel policies, and they are embarking on a vicious race war to tear down a peaceful multi-ethnic community to maintain their grips on power and money.

Jamaal Bowman is a Disgrace

A short recap of why Bowman is out of touch with Westchester voters:

  1. Supports “Defund the police”
  2. Supports “Abolishing ICE”
  3. Supports Critical Race Theory in schools
  4. Supports a broad redistribution of wealth, including payments to Black people for historic slavery
  5. Supports packing the Supreme Court
  6. Supports abandoning the electoral college
  7. Lies to constituents about backing the Infrastructure bill
  8. Lies to constituents about mainly taking small donations
  9. Lies to constituents that he brings money into the district when almost all of it went to New York City
  10. Hypocrite attacking fellow Democrats for not backing Infrastructure bill and then he voted against it
  11. Anti-charter schools
  12. Anti-capitalism
  13. Called for taxing unrealized capital gains
  14. Anti- Abraham Accords extending peace in the Middle East
  15. Boycotted liberal Israeli president speech to Congress
  16. Penned resolution to call founding of Israel a “catastrophe”
  17. Blamed USA for the problems in Central America
  18. Strange coziness with the government of China
  19. Backed by extremist alt-left and anti-Israel groups
  20. One of the least partisan members of congress
  21. Contempt for moderate voters
  22. Perpetual race baiter

ACTION ITEM

Email Ken Jenkins at kjenkins@westchestercountyny.gov or call (914) 995-2909 “NY16 does not want Jamaal Bowman as its congressman. Riverdale didn’t want him two years ago either. Do not protect him in redistricting.”

New York State’s 16th Congressional District is made up of lower Westchester County and a small nub of the Bronx

Related articles:

Review Of 2022 New York Congressional Voting And Spending

Politicians In Their Own Words: Why We Don’t Support Defending Jews

Jamaal Bowman Insists On Playing Dealer In The Dangerous Game Of Jew Hatred

Will New York Democrats Come After A Pro-Jewish Pro-Israel Congressman?

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Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY17) has been very active supporting his constituents, particularly those interested in combatting antisemitism and promoting peace in the Middle East.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY17)

It may make him a target of powerful left-wing politicians in New York State.

Lawler: Pro Peace and Bi-Partisan

On June 12, 2023, Lawler took to the House floor to promote a bill he co-sponsored with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY15). He spoke about H.R.3099 to create a “special envoy for the Abraham Accords in the U.S. Department of State… to coordinate efforts across the United States government to expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords with key allies and strategic partners… making clear that the United States government prioritizes our relationship with Israel and the advancement of peace and prosperity.”

Rep. Torres also took the floor and discussed the bill he co-sponsored and led with the importance of bipartisanship. “I want to thank the gentleman from New York, Mike Lawler, for his legislative partnership and leadership. If there is one cause that should transcend partisanship, it is the cause of peace in the Middle East. Building a bridge between Israel and the Arab world is neither a Democratic value nor a Republican value; it is an American value.”

Lawler concurs, and is proud of his willingness to work with Democrats saying “you need to be able to build relationships within your own conference and across the aisle, especially coming from a district like mine. My objective is to get things done.”

Not everyone agrees.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the anti-Israel and Jew-ambivalent congressman whose district sits between Lawler and Torres, voted against the measure. Bowman is among the most partisan members of Congress, almost never voting with Republicans, ranking #396 out of 435 by the Lugar bipartisanship index.

Bowman is the male version of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (ranked #401 by the Lugar Index), part of the emerging extremist wing taking over the Democratic party. They are the anti-Lawlers, highly partisan and anti-Israel.

Lawler: Fighting Antisemitism

Lawler has been active fighting for peace elsewhere.

On June 1, 2023, he introduced legislation, H.R.3773, to rescind federal funding for colleges that promote antisemitism on their campuses. It was drafted in reaction to the horrible wave of antisemitic incidents taking place on City of New York (CUNY) and State of New York (SUNY) college campuses. Lawler said that “CUNY should be ashamed of itself for allowing insidious anti-semitism to permeate on its campuses, and my bill will ensure they face stiff penalties if they continue to let hate have a home.”

Unfortunately, Jew hatred has been given a home in New York by the growing horde of left-wing radicals.

Shahana Hanif and Sandra Nurse of the New York City Council voted against a toothless resolution condemning Jew hatred in April. Four other Democrats abstained. Meanwhile every Republican on the council voted in favor of it.

How sad and frightening that condemning Jew hatred has become a partisan issue.

Lawler: In the Democratic Crosshairs

In the 2022 elections, Lawler defeated Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. With his powerful position, Maloney poured $6.7 million into his losing campaign to Lawler who barely spent $1.5 million. The loss was a stinging embarrassment for New York Democrats, and helped the Republicans take a majority of the House.

The powerful Democratic machine is now intent on taking out this Republican, with millions of dollars in negative ads with fake news about him being deeply unpopular, as well as actions hidden from sight, through the most partisan of actions, the gerrymander.

New York’s new liberal court may soon take the pen and rework district lines to make Lawler vulnerable, as he only won with only a 2,000 vote margin in 2022. Slight alterations to his district lines could make his tenure in congress very short.

Democrats will soon decide whether they care more about power and politics in using gerrymandering to try to oust Rep. Lawler, or working for a future of peace and bipartisanship.

I am not optimistic.

ACTION ITEM

EMAIL GOVERNOR HOCHUL: “Do not gerrymander NY17, Mike Lawler’s district. The courts put forward a fair New York map in 2022 and we do not want to see a bipartisan, pro-peace, fighter against antisemitism be removed from Congress with political trickery.”

EMAIL NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

EMAIL SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER

EMAIL SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

Related articles:

Rep. Ritchie Torres Doesn’t Want To Be the Only Progressive Pro-Israel Unicorn

Democrats Give Platforms to Their Extremists

Re-Districting Will Bring More Anti-Israel Members of Congress

The Right Number of Anti-Semites in Congress

White Voters And New York Congressional Races

Farrakhan in Westchester, and Jamaal Bowman

Anti-Israel and Jew-Ambivalent in Congress

Beating Bowman

White Voters And New York Congressional Races

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After doing an analysis of the voting and spending trends of the 2022 congressional races in New York, another factor seemed worth commenting regarding which party won certain districts: the percentage of White voters.

In the districts which were 76.0% White people over 18 years old (there were five of them), Republicans won every race. In districts which had fewer than 52.0% White voters (ten of them), Democrats won each race. The remaining eleven districts which had between 52.0% and 76.0% White voters, were split, with five for Democrats and six for Republicans.

The sharp break in blue, red and purple districts does NOT correlate in a similar fashion for median income levels. Many of the districts with the highest percentage of White voters (like NY-21, NY-22 and NY-23) have median incomes below solidly Democratic districts.

Democrats and Republicans will likely battle very intensively for the House in 2024, and spend even more than the $92 million they spent in New York in 2022. The most contested battles will likely be in those districts with between 52.0% and 76.0% White voters.

Review Of 2022 New York Congressional Voting And Spending

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The New York Congressional races were impacted by the reduction of a seat in congress (to 26 from 27) and redistricting this year. Many pundits were surprised by this year’s election results which saw Republicans win 11 seats and Democrats secure 15, in a heavily Democratic state. People considered whether the new district contours hurt Democrats or whether “outside money” influenced races.

Democrats won 56% of the total vote count and won 58% of the House seats, which closely align. Arguably, that shows that new contours served the goal of not seeing a disconnect of one party using gerrymandering to push out the other. Additionally, the Democrats outspent the Republicans by 2-to-1 (over $62 million compared to $30 million for Republicans).

The New York City-oriented media suggested that the more rural parts of the state had low voter-turnout and therefore did not really reflect the will of most people. In fact, it was the opposite. NYC voters barely turned out in the general election, with an average of 155,241 in the city’s eleven districts. That compares to an average voter turnout of 266,329 in non-New York City districts, and and average of 219,330 overall.

The New York City low voter turnout was rational. Indeed, going to the ballot box had virtually no meaning as the districts were blowouts. Six races had a winning spread of over 60% and another three were over 40%. The two races that more closely resembled the rest of the state with over 200,000 votes and closer races were NY-11, which was won by a Republican, and NY-16 (with just shy of 200,000 votes) which actually only has a small nub of the Bronx and is mostly Westchester County,

The money spent on the races was extremely uneven and yielded varied results.

While Democrats spent twice as much as Republicans, much of the money was spent in just a few districts. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) blew away all fund-raisers ($9.9 million) and easily beat her Republican challenger. Elise Stefanik (NY-21) was the biggest Republican spender ($8.3 million) and also won her seat.

Consider that AOC alone spent about one-third of the total amount that all 26 Republicans spent in the race.

Some Democrats seemed to spend without reason. Dan Goldman (NY-10) spent $6.9 million even though his opponent barely had a dime and won virtually no votes. Similarly for Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) spending of $5.1 million.

Three Democrats vastly outspent their Republican rivals and still lost. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-17) outspent Republican Mike Lawler by 5.6 times ($5.3 million to $900,000) and still lost. Francis Console (NY-22) outspent Republican Brandon Williams by 4.2 times and lost, while Democrat Bridget Fleming (NY-1) outspent Republican Nick LaLota by two times and lost.

Meanwhile Democrat Pat Ryan’s (NY-18) huge 2.1 times spending of Republican rival paid off, eking out a slim victory of 2 points. Republican Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) UNDERSPENT her rival on a dollar-per-vote basis, and won comfortably.

Overall, Democrats spent $19.54 per vote while Republicans spent $12.05, a 38% difference. Democrats spent over $10 per vote in 19 races compared to just eight for Republicans. They spent over $20 per vote in six districts, compared to three for Republicans.

In total, Democrats lost seven races in which they spent more per vote than the Republicans. The Republicans did not lose a single district where they spent more per vote than the Democrats.

Of the 26 congressional races, seven had a spread of less than 10 points. NY-17, NY-18, NY-19 and NY-22 all had spreads of one or two points, while NY-3, NY-4 and NY-25 had a bit more. Republicans won five of these seven tight races. Two of them, NY-17 and NY-22, saw Democrats pour millions of dollars into the races which ended up keeping them tight but still were won by Republicans.

Looking at it geographically, Democrats won 10 of 11 New York City Districts, while Republicans won 10 of 15 non-NYC districts.

Republicans will need to significantly boost their fundraising over the next election cycle and win the trust of their constituents if they want to continue to hold the five seats in the close races. It is likely that Democrat Mondaire Jones, a popular progressive who used to live in Rockland County (NY-17), will return to run against Mike Lawler in two years, after Jones’ failed run in the NY-10 primaries.

In summary, the new district contours seemed to work in New York State. The Democratic money machine poured tens of millions into races, with far left progressive AOC leading her party. If Republicans spend more intelligently in the state in the next cycle, they could keep and maybe expand upon their 2022 showing.

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In New York’s 17th congressional district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney lost his seat to a Republican challenger, Mike Lawler. The pundits – and Maloney himself – offered their opinions as to why the five-term incumbent who spent 5.6 times more than his opponent, lost.

Their conclusion is disheartening, as it further underscores how liberals simply refuse to acknowledge the rampant anti-Semitism and attacks against Jews in society.

The New York Times asked the question directly in its headline “A Powerful N.Y. Democrat Was a Shoo-In for Re-election. What happened?” It offered some ideas including that Maloney opted for running in the wrong district after his historic contours were redrawn. The article wrote that it may have appeared like a safe choice in “diverse, left-leaning places like Peekskill and Ossining,” it neglected to consider the “significant population of right-leaning ultra-Orthodox Jews.“

Jews were the only ethnic group mentioned in the article. Not Hispanics, Blacks, Asians nor any others. Jews were the thorn in the side which helped lead to this congressman’s demise, and possibly Democratic control of the House of Representatives.

In another Times’ article, Maloney was asked why some of his constituents voted against him. He blamed media fear-mongering.

Maloney said that people in the suburbs of New York City are fed lies by conservative media about crime. “New York is home to the fiercest outlet in the News Corporation fear machine. In fairness to the governor, she and the rest of us have to contend with the hysteria of The New York Post and of Fox News… you have these suburban voters who are experiencing those messages coming out of New York City outlets, which were heavily focused on crime.”

The outgoing congressman said that the media cooked up “messages” about crime to manufacture “fear” and “hysteria.” The issue for this New York politician who’s been serving in congress for ten years was media spin, not actual crime.

Hate crimes against Jews – particularly in New York – is not a fiction concocted to make Democrats look weak on crime. It is an alarming reality, and the scourge is reported by all media outlets, whether CBSNews, CNN or Reuters.

Jews are being harassed, assaulted and murdered with increasing frequency and rather than acknowledge the serious problem, liberals are treating it like false news.

And if that’s not bad enough, they are now blaming Orthodox Jews for flipping congress and thereby hurting the Democratic agenda in the entire country. A little more fuel for liberal Jew hatred for the coming years.

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